WLAN is a local area wireless computer networking technology described for instance standards issued by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) under the 802.11 series of standards. These standards are commonly used today in their 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, and 802.11n versions to provide wireless connectivity. A standard extension IEEE 802.11s is concerned with wireless mesh networks and provides how WLAN devices interconnect to create a wireless mesh network using WLAN technology. The term “mesh” as used in the present specification in many combinations with other terms generally refers to a networking technology that supports multi-hop communication. The term WiFi is frequently used as a synonym to WLAN technology and is also considered a synonym in the context of the present specification.
Devices configured to operate in accordance with a wireless local area network technology under one or more standards of the IEEE 802.11 series will be referred to as a WLAN device herein. There has been a fast growing interest in WLAN devices, for instance under the headline “intern of things (IoT)”, which refers to a connectivity of objects using embedded wireless technology. Such objects form a WLAN device in addition to one or more other functionalities implementing a respective other device application. A WLAN device of this type is therefore also called a WLAN application device herein. WLAN devices are also gaining popularity in the market because of their connectivity to the internet based on their native use of the interne protocol (IP).
A quick drop of production costs for WLAN controllers, which are also referred to as WLAN modules in the art and for instance provided in the form of a system on chip (SoC), has helped further accelerating the penetration of WLAN technology into wireless control applications in various fields of technical application, such as for example ventilation and air conditioning control, or power plugs. WLAN connectivity has also entered the lighting domain.
A commissioning of a large number of WLAN devices is typical in some fields of application. The commissioning involves multiple steps. A first step is a mechanical and electrical installation of the WLAN devices. This step is usually handled by construction contractors. The second step is to program all the newly installed WLAN devices to connect to a WLAN basic service set (BSS), which is also referred to as WLAN provisioning and which is a task that requires knowledge of WLAN technology. Such WLAN provisioning involves providing newly installed WLAN devices with WLAN credential information to achieve access to the desired WLAN BSS. Many WLAN application devices form headless WLAN devices, such as light bulbs or luminaires, which do not have a user interface, such as a keyboard or touch panel on the device to allow a user entering WLAN network credentials for setting up the network connection.
WLAN provisioning thus forms a crucial entry point for any WLAN device, which often prohibits handling by construction contractors. However, a WLAN application device reseller will be reluctant to send skilled communication engineers to perform the WLAN provisioning, since it will take a large amount of expert time to connect the large number of WLAN devices to a desired WLAN BSS.
Therefore, it has become common practice for a user to employ a WLAN configurator device, which may take the form of a smartphone, a tablet computer or a laptop computer, to facilitate the WLAN provisioning process. Such a WLAN configurator device is to communicate the WLAN credentials to the new WLAN devices.
US 2014/0187167 A1 describes a computing device for provisioning a wireless device for connection to a wireless network via a legacy access point. The wireless device supports a wireless protected setup protocol for obtaining the network profile of the network. A user requests the computing device to discover wireless devices for provisioning. In response to the user input, the computing device is configured as a soft access point and broadcasts a beacon signal indicating that the access point supports a wireless protected setup protocol, such as WLAN Protected Setup. A request for provisioning is then received by the computing device from the wireless device. A network profile is transmitted from the computing device to the wireless device in accordance with the wireless protected setup protocol. The wireless device may use the profile to connect to the network via the legacy access point using the network profile.